While the ECB will welcome the sign of recovery, economists in Germany have been pressurising it to raise interest rates to ensure inflation does not rise above target, but the central bank is keen to avoid triggering an investor sell-off during a weak recovery.

Howard Archer, chief UK and Europe economist at IHS Markit, noted: “Overall the ECB will likely be pleased with the November Eurozone producer price inflation data, although it will note that prices for consumer durable goods actually dipped while prices for capital goods were flat.

“However, there was a marked pick-up in the prices of intermediate goods which hints that underlying price pressures may be starting to firm,” he added.